ELMONT, N.Y. — Through one game, the Blackhawks are undefeated in the Anton Frondell era.
The Hawks held on by the thinnest of threads to win 4-3 on Tuesday in Frondell's debut, dealing a blow to the Islanders' playoff hopes in the process.
The No. 3 pick in last year's draft attempted five shots in 15:44 of ice time, skating on the first line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Greene as well as on the top power-play unit.
He earned his first NHL point with a savvy assist in the second period. He grabbed a loose puck as he skated into the neutral zone, kept his head up, spotted speedy Ilya Mikheyev streaking down the left side and fed him an accurate pass.
Seconds later, Mikheyev buried his 14th goal of the season through Isles goalie David Rittich's five-hole, giving the Hawks a lead (2-1 at the time) that they never relinquished.
"It was wide open, so why wouldn't I pass it?" Frondell quipped.
"I really didn't know before what to expect [from the NHL]. My first shift, I felt like, 'Oh wow, this is going really fast.' Like [Isles star Mathew Barzal], when he comes at high speed, it's hard to know what to do. But I just tried my best, tried to compete. I'm happy my first game is over."
Hawks coach Jeff Blashill was more impressed with Frondell's decision-making on the play than Frondell was, noting that most young players would've focused on Bedard slicing down the middle and not noticed Mikheyev open on the wing.
🚨ANTON FRONDELL FIRST NHL POINT🚨 pic.twitter.com/ipq5PLkJ67
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) March 24, 2026
Tactical body usage was another skill Frondell improved significantly this season in Sweden, and he demonstrated that both offensively (protecting the puck along the boards with his body on numerous occasions) and defensively (boxing Isles forward Bo Horvat out of the crease on a rush chance against in the second period).
"He doesn’t cheat for offense...[because] really for two years, he’s played pro hockey," Blashill said. "So
